arXiv subjects

Marina Battaglia

Publications and source records attributed to Marina Battaglia.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Radio Diagnostics of Particle Acceleration in Solar Flares with SKAO Observations

Particle acceleration is a fundamental astrophysical process occurring across diverse systems and scales, producing electromagnetic emission across all wavelengths. Radio bursts from astrophysical systems like active galaxy jets, solar flares, pulsars, etc., provide a probe into the emission mechanism and particle acceleration processes. Among all astrophysical phenomena, magnetically driven solar flares provide unique diagnostics of nonthermal particles due to the advantage of multiple spatial-temporal and spectral measurements. The subsequent emitted radiation spans various sections of the radio spectrum. Based on brightness temperature and spectrum, one can distinguish between bright plasma emission or 'nonthermal' emission. Nonthermal radio bursts in meter and microwave bands arise from suprathermal particles, while the surrounding plasma produces fainter thermal emission. High spatial-temporal studies along with polarimetry will enable tracking of electron beams in evolving magnetic fields and constrain coronal properties such as magnetic strength, density, and temperature. Fine spectral structures from gyrosynchrotron bursts allow mapping of magnetic fields along acceleration tracks. However, emissions from the more numerous, weaker particle populations remain difficult to observe. Particles in solar flares follow a power-law energy distribution, with weaker populations being more common. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will provide high-fidelity data that will enable detailed characterisation of these populations, statistical studies of particle beams, and insights into their interaction with magnetic topologies. Its high-resolution (especially SKA-Mid) and multi-wavelength synergy (EUV, X-rays) will refine diagnostics of coronal and acceleration-region properties. This chapter reviews particle acceleration models and expected advances from SKAO.

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arXiv2025

Spectral component imaging of solar X-ray flares

Solar hard X-ray observations provide diagnostics of the hottest plasmas and of nonthermal electron populations present during solar flares and coronal mass ejections. HXR images of specific energy ranges often contain overlapping contributions of these components, complicating their interpretation. This is even more challenging as HXR imagers generally use an indirect imaging system. Our work aims to separately image individual spectral components, such as thermal loops, superhot sources, and nonthermal footpoint sources, rather than obtaining images of specific energy ranges that show a combination of all components. We introduce a new method called spectral component imaging and apply it to observations provided by the Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) aboard Solar Orbiter. First, the flare integrated HXR spectrum is fitted with individual spectral components to get the relative contributions of each component in each native STIX energy channel. In a second step, a set of linear equations is created based on these weights and the observed, energy-dependent STIX visibilities. The visibilities of the individual spectral components are derived by means of a linear least-squares approach and are subsequently utilized for image reconstructions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of spectral component imaging on four different flares observed by STIX. This method provides powerful diagnostics, particularly for flares with hot and superhot components, allowing us to spatially separate these two thermal components. We apply our methodology to the nonthermal peak of the X7.1 flare SOL2024-10-01, and we find that the superhot component is located 4.8 Mm away from the hot thermal loops. The thermal energy of the superhot component is approximately 20% of the energy content of the hot component, highlighting the significance of superhot components in the total flare energy budget.

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arXiv2024

Study of Particle Acceleration using Fine Structures and Oscillations in Microwaves from Electron Cyclotron Maser

The accelerated electrons during solar flares produce radio bursts and nonthermal X-ray signatures. The quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) and fine structures in spatial-spectral-temporal space in radio bursts depend on the emission mechanism and the local conditions, such as magnetic fields, electron density, and pitch angle distribution. Radio burst observations with high frequency-time resolution imaging provide excellent diagnostics. In converging magnetic field geometries, the radio bursts can be produced via the electron-cyclotron maser (ECM). Recently, using observations made by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 1--2 GHz, \cite{Yu2023} reported a discovery of long-lasting auroral-like radio bursts persistent over a sunspot and interpreted them as ECM-generated emission. Here, we investigate the detailed second and sub-second temporal variability of this continuous ECM source. We study the association of 5-second period QPPs with a concurrent GOES C1.5-class flare, utilizing VLA's imaging spectroscopy capability with an extremely high temporal resolution (50 ms). We use the density and magnetic field extrapolation model to constrain the ECM emission to the second harmonic o-mode. Using the delay of QPPs from X-ray emission times, combined with X-ray spectroscopy and magnetic extrapolation, we constrain the energies and pitch angles of the ECM-emitting electrons to $\approx$4-8 keV and $>26^{\circ}$. Our analysis shows that the loss-cone diffusion continuously fuels the ECM via Coulomb collisions and magnetic turbulence between a 5 Mm--100 Mm length scale. We conclude that the QPP occurs via the Lotka-Volterra system, where the electron from solar flares saturates the continuously operating ECM and causes temporary oscillations.

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arXiv2023

Detection of long-lasting aurora-like radio emission above a sunspot

Auroral radio emissions in planetary magnetospheres typically feature highly polarized, intense radio bursts, usually attributed to electron cyclotron maser (ECM) emission from energetic electrons in the planetary polar region that features a converging magnetic field. Similar bursts have been observed in magnetically active low-mass stars and brown dwarfs, often prompting analogous interpretations. Here we report observations of long-lasting solar radio bursts with high brightness temperature, wide bandwidth, and high circular polarization fraction akin to these auroral/exo-auroral radio emissions, albeit two to three orders of magnitude weaker than those on certain low-mass stars. Spatially, spectrally, and temporally resolved analysis suggests that the source is located above a sunspot where a strong, converging magnetic field is present. The source morphology and frequency dispersion are consistent with ECM emission due to precipitating energetic electrons produced by recurring flares nearby. Our findings offer new insights into the origin of such intense solar radio bursts and may provide an alternative explanation for auroral-like radio emissions on other flare stars with large starspots.

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arXiv2023

The Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI)

FOXSI is a direct-imaging, hard X-ray (HXR) telescope optimized for solar flare observations. It detects hot plasma and energetic electrons in and near energy release sites in the solar corona via bremsstrahlung emission, measuring both spatial structure and particle energy distributions. It provides two orders of magnitude faster imaging spectroscopy than previously available, probing physically relevant timescales (<1s) never before accessible to address fundamental questions of energy release and efficient particle acceleration that have importance far beyond their solar application (e.g., planetary magnetospheres, flaring stars, accretion disks). FOXSI measures not only the bright chromospheric X-ray emission where electrons lose most of their energy, but also simultaneous emission from electrons as they are accelerated in the corona and propagate along magnetic field lines. FOXSI detects emission from high in the tenuous corona, where previous instruments have been blinded by nearby bright features and will fully characterizes the accelerated electrons and hottest plasmas as they evolve in energy, space, and time to solve the mystery of how impulsive energy release leads to solar eruptions, the primary drivers of space weather at Earth, and how those eruptions are energized and evolve.

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arXiv2023

Fundamentals of impulsive energy release in the corona

It is essential that there be coordinated and co-optimized observations in X-rays, gamma-rays, and EUV during the peak of solar cycle 26 (~2036) to significantly advance our understanding of impulsive energy release in the corona. The open questions include: What are the physical origins of space-weather events? How are particles accelerated at the Sun? How is impulsively released energy transported throughout the solar atmosphere? How is the solar corona heated? Many of the processes involved in triggering, driving, and sustaining solar eruptive events -- including magnetic reconnection, particle acceleration, plasma heating, and energy transport in magnetized plasmas -- also play important roles in phenomena throughout the Universe. This set of observations can be achieved through a single flagship mission or, with foreplanning, through a combination of major missions (e.g., the previously proposed FIERCE mission concept).

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arXiv2023

The need for focused, hard X-ray investigations of the Sun

Understanding the nature of energetic particles in the solar atmosphere is one of the most important outstanding problems in heliophysics. Flare-accelerated particles compose a huge fraction of the flare energy budget; they have large influences on how events develop; they are an important source of high-energy particles found in the heliosphere; and they are the single most important corollary to other areas of high-energy astrophysics. Despite the importance of this area of study, this topic has in the past decade received only a small fraction of the resources necessary for a full investigation. For example, NASA has selected no new Explorer-class instrument in the past two decades that is capable of examining this topic. The advances that are currently being made in understanding flare-accelerated electrons are largely undertaken with data from EOVSA (NSF), STIX (ESA), and NuSTAR (NASA Astrophysics). This is despite the inclusion in the previous Heliophysics decadal survey of the FOXSI concept as part of the SEE2020 mission, and also despite NASA's having invested heavily in readying the technology for such an instrument via four flights of the FOXSI sounding rocket experiment. Due to that investment, the instrumentation stands ready to implement a hard X-ray mission to investigate flare-accelerated electrons. This white paper describes the scientific motivation for why this venture should be undertaken soon.

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arXiv2023

Quasi-periodic pulsations in solar flares: a key diagnostic of energy release on the Sun

Solar flares are among the most powerful and disruptive events in our solar system, however the physical mechanisms driving and transporting this energetic release are not fully understood. An important signature associated with flare energy release is highly variable emission on timescales of sub-seconds to minutes which often exhibit oscillatory behaviour, features collectively known as quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs). To fully identify the driving mechanism of QPPs, exploit their potential as a diagnostic tool, and incorporate them into our understanding of solar and stellar flares, new observational capabilities and initiatives are required. There is a clear community need for flare-focused, rapid cadence, high resolution, multi-wavelength imaging of the Sun, with high enough sensitivity and dynamic range to observe small fluctuations in intensity in the presence of a large overall intensity. Furthermore, multidisciplinary funding and initiatives are required to narrow the gap between numerical models and observations. QPPs are direct signatures of the physics occurring in flare magnetic reconnection and energy release sites and hence are critical to include in a unified flare model. Despite significant modelling and theoretical work, no single mechanism or model can fully explain the presence of QPPs in flares. Moreover, it is also likely that QPPs fall into different categories that are produced by different mechanisms. At present we have insufficient information to observationally distinguish between mechanisms. The motivation to understand QPPs is strengthened by the geo-effectiveness of flares on the Earth's ionosphere, and by the fact that stellar flares exhibit similar QPP signatures. QPPs present a golden opportunity to better understand flare physics and exploit the solar-stellary analogy, benefiting both astrophysics, heliophysics, and the solar-terrestrial connection.

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arXiv2022

Multiple Regions of Nonthermal Quasi-Periodic Pulsations during the Impulsive Phase of a Solar Flare

Flare-associated quasiperiodic pulsations (QPPs) in radio and X-ray wavelengths, particularly those related to nonthermal electrons, contain important information about the energy release and transport processes during flares. However, the paucity of spatially resolved observations of such QPPs with a fast time cadence has been an obstacle for us to further understand their physical nature. Here, we report observations of such a QPP event that occurred during the impulsive phase of a C1.8-class eruptive solar flare using radio imaging spectroscopy data from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and complementary X-ray imaging and spectroscopy data. The radio QPPs, observed by the VLA in the 1--2 GHz with a subsecond cadence, are shown as three spatially distinct sources with different physical characteristics. Two radio sources are located near the conjugate footpoints of the erupting magnetic flux rope with opposite senses of polarization. One of the sources displays a QPP behavior with a ~5 s period. The third radio source, located at the top of the postflare arcade, coincides with the location of an X-ray source and shares a similar period of ~25--45 s. We show that the two oppositely polarized radio sources are likely due to coherent electron cyclotron maser (ECM) emission. On the other hand, the looptop QPP source, observed in both radio and X-rays, is consistent with incoherent gyrosynchrotron and bremsstrahlung emission, respectively. We conclude that the concurrent, but spatially distinct QPP sources must involve multiple mechanisms which operate in different magnetic loop systems and at different periods.

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arXiv2022

Detection of weak ubiquitous impulsive nonthermal emissions from the solar corona

A ubiquitous presence of weak energy releases is one of the most promising hypotheses to explain coronal heating, referred to as the nanoflare hypothesis. The accelerated electrons associated with such weak heating events are also expected to give rise to coherent impulsive emission via plasma instabilities in the meterwave radio band, making this a promising spectral window to look for their presence. Recently \citet{Mondal2020b} reported the presence of weak impulsive emissions from quiet Sun regions which seem to meet the requirements of being radio counterparts of the hypothesized nanoflares. Detection of such low-contrast weak emission from the quiet Sun is challenging and, given their implications, it is important to confirm their presence. In this work, using data from the Murchison Widefield Array, we explore the use of an independent robust approach for their detection by separating the dominant slowly varying component of emission from the weak impulsive one in the visibility domain. We detect milli-SFU level bursts taking place all over the Sun and characterize their brightness temperatures, distributions, morphologies, durations and association with features seen in EUV images. We also attempt to constraint the energies of the nonthermal particles using inputs from the FORWARD coronal model along with some reasonable assumptions and find them to lie in the sub-pico flare ($\sim 10^{19}-10^{21}$ ergs) range. In the process, we also discover perhaps the weakest type III radio burst and another one that shows clear signatures of weakest quasi-periodic pulsations.

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arXiv2021

Multiple electron acceleration instances during a series of solar microflares observed simultaneously at X-rays and microwaves

Even small solar flares can display a surprising level of complexity regarding their morphology and temporal evolution. Many of their properties, such as energy release and electron acceleration can be studied using highly complementary observations at X-ray and radio wavelengths. We present X-ray observations from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) and radio observations from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) of a series of GOES A3.4 to B1.6 class flares observed on 2013 April 23. The flares, as seen in X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (EUV), originated from multiple locations within active region NOAA 11726. A veritable zoo of different radio emissions between 1 GHz and 2 GHz was observed co-temporally with the X-ray flares. In addition to broad-band continuum emission, broad-band short-lived bursts and narrow-band spikes, indicative of accelerated electrons, were observed. However, these sources were located up to 150 arcsec away from the flaring X-ray sources but only some of these emissions could be explained as signatures of electrons that were accelerated near the main flare site. For other sources, no obvious magnetic connection to the main flare site could be found. These emissions likely originate from secondary acceleration sites triggered by the flare, but may be due to reconnection and acceleration completely unrelated to the co-temporally observed flare. Thanks to the extremely high sensitivity of the VLA, not achieved with current X-ray instrumentation, it is shown that particle acceleration happens frequently and at multiple locations within a flaring active region.

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arXiv2021

STIX X-ray microflare observations during the Solar Orbiter commissioning phase

The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) is the HXR instrument onboard Solar Orbiter designed to observe solar flares over a broad range of flare sizes, between 4-150 keV. We report the first STIX observations of microflares recorded during the instrument commissioning phase in order to investigate the STIX performance at its detection limit. This first result paper focuses on the temporal and spectral evolution of STIX microflares occuring in the AR12765 in June 2020, and compares the STIX measurements with GOES/XRS, SDO/AIA, and Hinode/XRT. For the observed microflares of the GOES A and B class, the STIX peak time at lowest energies is located in the impulsive phase of the flares, well before the GOES peak time. Such a behavior can either be explained by the higher sensitivity of STIX to higher temperatures compared to GOES, or due to the existence of a nonthermal component reaching down to low energies. The interpretation is inconclusive due to limited counting statistics for all but the largest flare in our sample. For this largest flare, the low-energy peak time is clearly due to thermal emission, and the nonthermal component seen at higher energies occurs even earlier. This suggests that the classic thermal explanation might also be favored for the majority of the smaller flares. In combination with EUV and SXR observations, STIX corroborates earlier findings that an isothermal assumption is of limited validity. Future diagnostic efforts should focus on multi-wavelength studies to derive differential emission measure distributions over a wide range of temperatures to accurately describe the energetics of solar flares. Commissioning observations confirm that STIX is working as designed. As a rule of thumb, STIX detects flares as small as the GOES A class. For flares above the GOES B class, detailed spectral and imaging analyses can be performed.

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arXiv2021

Energetic Electron Distribution of the Coronal Acceleration Region: First results from Joint Microwave and Hard X-ray Imaging Spectroscopy

Nonthermal sources located above bright flare arcades, referred to as the "above-the-loop-top" sources, have been often suggested as the primary electron acceleration site in major solar flares. The X8.2 limb flare on 2017 September 10 features such an above-the-loop-top source, which was observed in both microwaves and hard X-rays (HXRs) by the Expanded Owens Valley Solar Array (EOVSA) and the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), respectively. By combining the microwave and HXR imaging spectroscopy observations with multi-filter extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray imaging data, we derive the energetic electron distribution of this source over a broad energy range from $<$10 keV up to $\sim$MeV during the early impulsive phase of the flare. The best-fit electron distribution consists of a thermal "core" from $\sim$25 MK plasma. Meanwhile, a nonthermal power-law "tail" joins the thermal core at $\sim$16 keV with a spectral index of $\sim$3.6, which breaks down at above $\sim$160 keV to $>$6.0. In addition, temporally resolved analysis suggests that the electron distribution above the break energy rapidly hardens with the spectral index decreasing from $>$20 to $\sim$6.0 within 20 s, or less than $\sim$10 Alfvén crossing times in the source. These results provide strong support for the above-the-loop-top source as the primary site where an on-going bulk acceleration of energetic electrons is taking place very early in the flare energy release.

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arXiv2020

Radio and X-ray Observations of Short-lived Episodes of Electron Acceleration in a Solar Microflare

Solar flares are sudden energy release events in the solar corona, resulting from magnetic reconnection, that accelerates particles and heats the ambient plasma. During a flare, there are often multiple, temporally and spatially separated individual energy release episodes that can be difficult to resolve depending on the observing instrument. We present multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy observations of multiple electron acceleration episodes during a GOES B1.7-class two-ribbon flare on 2012 February 25, observed simultaneously with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 1--2 GHz, the Reuven Ramatay High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) in X-rays, and the Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet (EUV). During the initial phase of the flare, five radio bursts were observed. A nonthermal X-ray source was seen co-temporal, but not co-spatial, with the first three radio bursts. Their radio spectra are interpreted as optically thick gyrosynchrotron emission. By fitting the radio spectra with a gyrosynchrotron model, we derive the magnetic field strength and nonthermal electron spectral parameters in each acceleration episode. Notably, the nonthermal parameters derived from X-rays differ considerably from the nonthermal parameters inferred from the radio. The observations are indicative of multiple, co-temporal acceleration episodes during the impulsive phase of a solar microflare. The X-ray and radio burst sources likely originate from separate electron distributions in different magnetic loops.

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arXiv2019

Electron distribution and energy release in magnetic reconnection outflow regions during the pre-impulsive phase of a solar flare

We present observations of electron energization in magnetic reconnection outflows during the pre-impulsive phase of solar flare SOL2012-07-19T05:58. During a time-interval of about 20 minutes, starting 40 minutes before the onset of the impulsive phase, two X-ray sources were observed in the corona, one above the presumed reconnection region and one below. For both of these sources, the mean electron distribution function as a function of time is determined over an energy range from 0.1~keV up to several tens of keV, for the first time. This is done by simultaneous forward fitting of X-ray and EUV data. Imaging spectroscopy with RHESSI provides information on the high-energy tail of the electron distribution in these sources while EUV images from SDO/AIA are used to constrain the low specific electron energies. The measured electron distribution spectrum in the magnetic reconnection outflows is consistent with a time-evolving kappa-distribution with $κ=3.5-5.5$. The spectral evolution suggests that electrons are accelerated to progressively higher energies in the source above the reconnection region, while in the source below, the spectral shape does not change but an overall increase of the emission measure is observed, suggesting density increase due to evaporation. The main mechanisms by which energy is transported away from the source regions are conduction and free-streaming electrons. The latter dominates by more than one order of magnitude and is comparable to typical non-thermal energies during the hard X-ray peak of solar flares, suggesting efficient acceleration even during this early phase of the event.

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arXiv2018

Magnetic Reconnection Null Points as the Origin of Semi-relativistic Electron Beams in a Solar Jet

Magnetic reconnection, the central engine that powers explosive phenomena throughout the Universe, is also perceived as one of the principal mechanisms for accelerating particles to high energies. Although various signatures of magnetic reconnection have been frequently reported, observational evidence that links particle acceleration directly to the reconnection site has been rare, especially for space plasma environments currently inaccessible to $\textit{in situ}$ measurements. Here we utilize broadband radio dynamic imaging spectroscopy available from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array to observe decimetric type III radio bursts in a solar jet with high angular ($\sim$20$''$), spectral ($\sim$1 %), and temporal resolution (50 milliseconds). These observations allow us to derive detailed trajectories of semi-relativistic (tens of keV) electron beams in the low solar corona with unprecedentedly high angular precision ($<0''.65$). We found that each group of electron beams, which corresponds to a cluster of type III bursts with 1-2-second duration, diverges from an extremely compact region ($\sim$600 km$^2$) in the low solar corona. The beam-diverging sites are located behind the erupting jet spire and above the closed arcades, coinciding with the presumed location of magnetic reconnection in the jet eruption picture supported by extreme ultraviolet/X-ray data and magnetic modeling. We interpret each beam-diverging site as a reconnection null point where multitudes of magnetic flux tubes join and reconnect. Our data suggest that the null points likely consist of a high level of density inhomogeneities possibly down to 10-km scales. These results, at least in the present case, strongly favor a reconnection-driven electron acceleration scenario.

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arXiv2017

A Compressed Sensing-based Image Reconstruction Algorithm for Solar Flare X-Ray Observations

One way of imaging X-ray emission from solar flares is to measure Fourier components of the spatial X-ray source distribution. We present a new Compressed Sensing-based algorithm named VIS_CS, which reconstructs the spatial distribution from such Fourier components. We demonstrate the application of the algorithm on synthetic and observed solar flare X-ray data from the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) satellite and compare its performance with existing algorithms. VIS_CS produces competitive results with accurate photometry and morphology, without requiring any algorithm- and X-ray source-specific parameter tuning. Its robustness and performance make this algorithm ideally suited for generation of quicklook images or large image cubes without user intervention, such as for imaging spectroscopy analysis.

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arXiv2017

The Solar X-ray Limb

We describe a new technique to measure the height of the X-ray limb with observations from occulted X-ray flare sources as observed by the RHESSI (the Reuven Ramaty High-Energy Spectroscopic Imager) satellite. This method has model dependencies different from those present in traditional observations at optical wavelengths, which depend upon detailed modeling involving radiative transfer in a medium with complicated geometry and flows. It thus provides an independent and more rigorous measurement of the "true" solar radius, meaning that of the mass distribution. RHESSI's measurement makes use of the flare X-ray source's spatial Fourier components (the visibilities), which are sensitive to the presence of the sharp edge at the lower boundary of the occulted source. We have found a suitable flare event for analysis, SOL2011-10-20T03:25 (M1.7), and report a first result from this novel technique here. Using a 4-minute integration over the 3-25 keV photon energy range, we find $R_{\mathrm{X-ray}} = 960.11\ \pm\ 0.15 \pm 0.29$ arcsec, at 1 AU, where the uncertainties include statistical uncertainties from the method and a systematic error. The standard VAL-C model predicts a value of 959.94 arcsec, about 1$σ$ below our value.

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